Sweet Dreams
by Rogue Angel2
Summary: What if Max's life after the escape was all a dream? This is an Alt Fic that answers the question of what would have happened if the unit never escaped.


"Sweet Dreams" Rogue Angel  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing associated with Dark Angel. I'm a college student. I own nothing nor do I claim to. The Powers That Be have the rights. Not I. Summary: What if Max's life after the escape was all a dream? Spoilers/Timeframe: Season 2 Rating: PG 13 A/N: I found inspiration for this story in an episode of Buffy. Buffy's convinced by a demon that she was never the slayer, that she was just delusional. And while I might like that idea, it seemed like it was just a little bit too much of a stretch (seeing as how Max doesn't battle demons and supernatural forces and all). It's a look to see what life would be like had the twelve not made it.  
  
*****  
  
2020  
  
Max sat on top of the Space Needle to clear her head. There had been to much going on recently with Rafer, Zack, Logan, Joshua, Isaac, White, Alec.... All the males in her life were causing more stress than she cared to think about.  
  
She inhaled deeply. A chilled breeze made her pull her legs in closer. Maybe if I should swear off the male gender, it might make life just a little easier, she thought to herself and laughed. She knew that there would always be something about men to draw her back in.  
  
Her pager beeped. Logan. She sighed, there was that something to draw her back. She stood and looked over her city once more. It used to be such a proud city but that was gone now. It was a shadow of what it had been and she would do everything she could to help Logan right the wrongs.  
  
She knocked once and entered Logan's apartment.  
  
"Max." He smiled.  
  
"You got a hair cut," Max said. She liked his hair shorter, the long hair thing didn't work for him, too bohemian. "And you paged."  
  
"Yeah on both counts. You didn't call back, I was getting worried."  
  
"I couldn't find a working phone, what's up?"  
  
"This guy. Randall Mackenzie. He's laundering money, drugs, and guns."  
  
"You want me to watch him or take him down?"  
  
"If you could do some recon ,that would be great. I could make some dinner afterwards too."  
  
"Yeah, sure. I promise I won't taste test the food first too." He smirked, the smirk that made her insides tingle. "Do I need that in writing?" he joked.  
  
Max rolled her eyes. "So what time to you want this to go down?"  
  
"Is three hours ok? I've got to get some more info before we go."  
  
"Sure. I'll be at Crash while I wait."  
  
"I'll come pick you up then."  
  
They watched each other for a tense moment and then both turned away. Max left without saying a word.  
  
She sped her bike through the city. A memory of her racing Zack flooded her thoughts. It had been so much easier when his identity was a secret. Times were bad back then but not as bad as they were now. She couldn't touch Logan, couldn't hold his hand, kiss...or kiss Logan. She remembered what it was like to kiss him. They had shared kisses only a few times but that time was gone.  
  
She skid her bike to a stop, she had almost past the bar while she was in her thoughts. She parked and locked it, and headed in.  
  
Original, Alec, and Sketchy were sitting together talking. Original looked over.  
  
"Yo, Boo!"  
  
Max nodded in acknowledgement and headed over. Alec poured her a mug of beer.  
  
"How goes it?" Sketchy asked.  
  
"Same old, same old. Days aren't long enough but they're too damn long," replied Max.  
  
"I hear ya Boo." Original said.  
  
Alec wasn't really in the conversation. He was looking at a woman across the bar.  
  
"Space Cadet." Original snapped her fingers in front of his face. "You awake?"  
  
He batted her hand away. "I am. I'm just checking out the blue lady over there."  
  
Max's ears perked. "What?"  
  
"The honey in blue. You hard of hearing today?" Alec responded.  
  
"Yeah, I guess." Max took a drink of her beer and tried to shake the thought out of her head.  
  
Tell me about the Good Place. In her head she heard the snap of Ben's neck, she felt the familiar nausea involved with that memory.  
  
She took another drink and looked down at the bar. She blinked and then forced herself to blink again. She saw Lydecker sitting at the bar. He looked up at her and raised his water glass in a toast. She closed her eyes and opened them again and he was gone.  
  
Logan walked in and nodded to her. She stood up. "Sorry guys, I've got to blaze." She didn't wait for her friends' good byes. She got up and headed to Logan. They left and got into his car without saying a word. The silence continued until they got to a warehouse on the waterfront.  
  
Logan sat forward in his seat and squinted. "I wish we could make out while we wait."  
  
"Huh?" Max asked. She remembered when she was in heat and thought he had said that.  
  
"I wish I could make out what's on the gate. I think I need to get my eyes checked. You can read it right?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. Maersk shipping."  
  
"Then this is the place. My contact said there'll be minimal security. There's an office on the ground floor. If you could get there and see if there's any information about where he's shipping from and where too. That'd be great."  
  
"I'll see what I can do."  
  
Max got out of the car and headed to the building. She scaled the fence easily and made it to the top of the building with practiced ease. She opened the sky light and dropped down to a catwalk. She turned around and saw a figure in the shadows in a fighting stance. Max assumed a similar stance. The figure stepped out of the shadows.  
  
Max's eyes went wide. She recognized the other figure instantly. She was same tall, dark woman she had come to know as her sister, Jace.  
  
"Max," Jace said. She turned and ran away.  
  
Max followed after. Jace took a left and pulled open the door to a stairway. She bumped into a figure.  
  
"Sorry," Max said.  
  
"Max," a voice hissed in hatred.  
  
Max took a step back and saw another one of her sisters, Brin. Max raised her hands in a non-combative gesture. "I don't want to fight." "Life is a fight," Brin said. She hopped over the railing and dropped down to the next flight.  
  
Max ran to the railing and looked down. Nothing. She shook her head. Neither of her sisters should have been there. She went to the office and saw nothing there. It was empty. She made her way up to the exit. She stood on the cat walk and looked over the empty building. The bad guys had jumped the gun and already left.  
  
She walked out the front door and back toward the gate. She looked to where Logan's car was and saw nothing. "Damnit Logan. I'm so not in the mood for pranks." She walked to the gate and looked around. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. She yelled an expletive deleted at the top of her lungs and slammed her foot into the fence. The instant her foot hit the fence she heard a horn.  
  
She looked around as the horn began to sound more and more like the escape alarm from Manticore. A spotlight shone on her.  
  
"Don't move," an unseen voice ordered.  
  
Max instantly turned and ran towards the building. She heard the sounds of dogs barking, helicopters, and someone running behind her.  
  
She slammed the door shut and leaned against it. "Logical explanation for this would be... I'm losing my mind. That's it. I'm dreaming. Like on Halloween. One, two, three, wake up." Max closed her eyes and opened them, she was still in the empty building.  
  
Max heard Zack's voice clearly. "They're soldiers... And so are you. The only person you can rely on, Max, is yourself. Everything else is just a lie. It's phony sentimentality. And it will get you killed. Now, let's go."  
  
"Zack?" Max asked.  
  
"You're one of them. One of mine. X5. Nobody else would know the names you kids called each other," Lydecker's voice echoed through the building.  
  
"Look what the cat dragged in," Syl's voice spoke.  
  
"You take care of yourself, baby sister," Tinga's voice spoke.  
  
"Who murdered our sister?" Krit's voice asked.  
  
"Come on, Maxie! Don't tell me you've forgotten that day," Ben's voice shouted.  
  
"Will you look at us?" Logan's voice spoke. She heard her own answer. Pathetic.  
  
Hopeless.  
  
Lucky we hooked up.  
  
"What's going on?" Max asked herself. The voices began to escalate.  
  
Soon she could identify the voices of all of people she had known in her life. They all began to chant her name.  
  
"Stop," Max yelled. "Stop it."  
  
One voice broke through the rest, a young voice, "Max!"  
  
"Jondy?" Max asked.  
  
She heard a gunshot and she took off running. She ran out the back door and towards the waterfront. She neared the edge and jumped off the ledge and into the water.  
  
The water was freezing and she struggled to swim to the surface. There seemed to be something above her. She heard a scream rip above the water. She looked up and saw Jondy leaning over the water. Jondy as a child. Max felt herself get weak, she was incredibly tired. The cold was overpowering. She heard a faint splash near her. Jondy was next to her, pulling her towards a hole in the ice. Jondy forced Max above the surface. Max gasped. She opened her eyes and saw the snowy Wyoming landscape that was Manticore. She plunged back under the water.  
  
She looked at Jondy. Jondy flashed a signal. How many are there?  
  
Max shook her head no, she had not looked. Jondy swam to the gap in the ice and looked out. She broke through the surface and took a quick look.  
  
She swam under. Max signaled, How many?  
  
"Two," Jondy responded. A bullet broke through the water and just barely missed Jondy's head.  
  
A loudspeaker was above them. "Break the surface slowly or we will open fire." Jondy grabbed Max's arm and pulled her lower. They tried to lay on the bottom of the lake but they began to grow faint. The water was so cold. Max began to lose  
  
Jondy tried to shake Max but her eyes were beginning to roll to the bark of her head. Jondy gritted her teeth then wrapped her arms around Max. Jondy pushed herself off the bottom of the lake as hard as she could. They broke the surface. Max was fully unconscious now. Jondy had the look of grim determination as they broke the surface.  
  
One of the soldiers leaned in and ripped Max away from Jondy. A second one pulled Jondy out of the water. A second after Jondy was out, she was shocked by one of the guards. Max regained consciousness in time to be zapped by one of the soldiers.  
  
It was days later when Max woke. She was strapped to a bed in the hospital ward of Manticore. She lifted her head and saw she was in a large room with other beds, occupied like her own. To her left she saw Jondy.  
  
"Jondy, what happened?" Max asked.  
  
"Silence soldier!" a voice shouted.  
  
Max didn't speak again that day. Or the next. There was too much surveillance for conversations. Max's question had been answered for herself, the escape failed. No one escaped.  
  
They soon began the painful process of re-education. She was in the middle of one of her torture sessions when she heard Ben's screams. "Protect us! We believe in you!"  
  
She heard screams and yells of pain the rest of that day, some of them were hers. After a month they were deemed ready to be released into the general barracks. Eva and Jack were there also. Manticore had brought them back from the dead, made Jack better. The unit was together again.  
  
Max kept to herself about... About the future. It sounded ludicrous. "Hey guys, guess what? I lived out a reality in which we did escape. How was it? Well, Eva and Jack don't come back from the dead, Ben and Tinga die, Zack loses his memory, Brin turns against us, we never see each other, and oh yeah, I unleash all the Nomlies into the world." Yeah, that was believable. Soon the thoughts of what she had known faded away. The Pulse never happened and life went on.  
  
2020  
  
Max stood on the top of the Space Needle, something felt vaguely comforting about it. Her hair was tied up and she was dressed in black from head to toe.  
  
A girl, a little older than Max, joined her. Her hair was light brown and as long as Max's. It was also tied back. Her light skin contrasted against the black of the uniform.  
  
"Seems like a proud city," the girl, Jondy, said. She grinned and her blue eyes shone.  
  
"Yeah. It does."  
  
"You're clear on the mission?" Jondy asked.  
  
"Yeah. We sit up here until we duck into the restaurant take care of the mission. And avoid being seen by the weather cams."  
  
"Which Krit has taken care of."  
  
"How do you know that?" Max asked.  
  
Jondy tapped her ear piece. Max clicked hers on. "Glad you could join us, 452," Krit said into the ear piece.  
  
"I thought I had to have an invitation," Max said.  
  
"Let's get this over with, it's cold and I want to get back soon," Jondy said into the mic.  
  
"I'm waiting for Zack's signal," was Krit's response.  
  
"Stop crowding the airwaves." Zack's voice came through in a whisper.  
  
Max crouched down and laid on her stomach. She scooted to the edge and looked into the restaurant. Lots and lots of happy faces. Happy faces of the ignorant. Max ignored the people and found Zack. He was dressed as a waiter. Max's eyes drifted and she saw Brin, Jace, and Tinga dressed as waitresses. Zane and Syl were dressed as patrons of the restaurant and Ben was at the bar. She pulled up and pulled herself away from the edge.  
  
Krit was in a van down below with Eva and Jack, they were tapped into the security system and to the local news stations' weather cameras. No one but Krit saw the real view from the "Eye of the Needle". And walking around on the ground levels, setting up a perimeter, were the others in the unit. This was no simple assassination but a full out hostage situation. The Space Needle was to be taken.  
  
They were going to take eight of the local millionaires, six of whom supported Manticore, and make sure that Manticore kept the funds coming but keep the facts of Manticore hidden. The other two, well, their funds would be greatly appreciated.  
  
Max leaned back over the ledge and looked in. Zack looked over and she pulled back, just in time to not be seen by him. But she almost slipped in the process.  
  
"Close one, baby sister," Jondy said with a grin. "You didn't get caught and you just barely made it. And from this high, cats don't always land on their feet." Jondy grabbed Max's hand and pulled her up.  
  
Max grinned. "Yeah, well I got you to watch my back, right?"  
  
Jondy smiled and clapped Max on her back. "Always. Let's lock in."  
  
The two girls put on their harnesses and got their ropes secured. Krit broke the silence through the ear pieces. "Mobile units, Vid screens on."  
  
Jondy pulled back her sleeve to show what looked like a long, thin watch that fit on her wrist and covered most of her forearm, halfway to the elbow. Jondy tapped the bottom corner of her Arm Vid and a screen turned on. Krit fed a video image into the screens.  
  
It was an angle of the whole restaurant. Zack was carrying a tray in the middle of the restaurant. He looked over to Tinga and nodded. Brin nodded back then looked to Jace who nodded in response and looked to Tinga who grinned. Zack began to move towards Tinga, she picked up a couple of dishes and moved towards him. Tinga took a dive that looked like she tripped. She crashed into Zack who rolled over her. Brin and Jace ran to them and helped them pick up the scattered food. The restaurant was quite a ruckus now. Customers began to get angry, they were riled up by Ben, Zane, and Syl.  
  
"That's it. Rooftop move in," Krit ordered.  
  
Jondy pulled down her mask and Max did the same. They ran down to the edge and jumped off. Their ropes snapped them back towards the glass. They broke through and pulled their guns out.  
  
"Remain calm, this is a hostage situation," Jondy said.  
  
All of the other Manticore soldiers pulled down masks and pulled out their guns. They began to corral all of the restaurant patrons into the center and pushing the tables out of the way.  
  
"What's going on?" one of the victims asked.  
  
"You not listening to the lady? You're a hostage," Zane said, pushing the person with his gun.  
  
"Who's holding us hostage?" someone else asked.  
  
"No more questions. New rule, don't speak unless spoken to. Is that clear?" Zack asked.  
  
Some of the women began to whimper and cry. Jace leaned over in their faces, "Crying is not going to help."  
  
One of the patrons, an elderly gentleman, stood up. "Stop harassing them."  
  
Ben came up to the man. "No talking." Then he hit him in the face with his gun. The man went down hard.  
  
The Unit circled the restaurant patrons and leveled their guns. Zack took a step in. "This is not a drill, this is not a test, this is reality. Six of you know who we are, the others don't and you don't need to. If you feel like breaking any rules we are authorized to use force as a means to show we are serious. First rule, I've already told you. You speak if we talk to you. Second, there will be no heroics. You try to be a hero and you'll become a corpse. Third, compliance is your only way out alive. Nothing else matters, nothing else will keep you alive. Any questions? Didn't think so. Some of you don't belong here and we are sorry, but if you play along you'll walk out alive."  
  
One of the patrons raise their hands. Zack nodded at her. "I've got diabetes. I don't have my insulin with me," she said.  
  
"What's your name?" Zack asked.  
  
"Cindy."  
  
"Last name?"  
  
"McEachin."  
  
Zack looked at Syl.  
  
"She's not on the list," Syl replied.  
  
Max looked at Cindy, it was the girl she remembered... Original Cindy. Max tapped Zack. "Check her blood. I think she's faking it."  
  
Cindy locked gazes with her. Zack motioned to Jondy. "Check her."  
  
Jondy nodded and pulled out a case. "Finger."  
  
Cindy gave Jondy "the finger".  
  
Jondy made an unseen face and grabbed the finger and broke it. Jondy smiled. "You know that's not polite."  
  
Cindy cried out as Jondy put the broken finger on the sensor in the case. Once the sensor took it's sample Cindy grabbed her hand back and cradled it.  
  
Jondy looked at the sensor and grinned. She showed it to Zack. "No deficiencies in the system. Healthy as a dog... Lies like one too."  
  
Zack looked at her. "Lying is not appreciated."  
  
"Sit your ass down," Tinga snapped.  
  
Max looked at the people for the first time, not looking at them generally but actually looking at the faces and what she saw struck her. Cindy she had recognized, now she saw that one of the real waiters was Sketchy, Normal was a patron and what struck her the most was Logan was in the group. This was her life from before, the life that had been a dream.  
  
Jondy must have noticed the change in Max because she came over to her. "You cool?"  
  
"Yeah." Max nodded.  
  
"Get your head in the game," Jondy said trying to get Max's eyes.  
  
Max nodded. Jondy clapped her on the back. "Come on, baby girl. You in it?"  
  
"I'm in it," Max said.  
  
They rejoined the group. Logan raised his hand. "You got a health emergency too?" Zack asked.  
  
"No. Who's holding us?"  
  
"We are," Brin said.  
  
"Who are you working for?" he asked.  
  
"Shut up, Logan, you'll get killed for asking questions like that," Max said.  
  
The room went silent and every person in the room looked at her. She realized that she had not been briefed on who was in the restaurant. Only Zack and Syl knew.  
  
Jondy caught the vibe and changed the subject. "Has the Colonel reported in yet?"  
  
Zack shook his head no. "I'll patch him in," Zack said.  
  
The soldiers assumed positions with their guns leveled at the patrons. Zack stepped away and talked to Krit over the ear pieces.  
  
Logan made his way to Max. "How do you know me?"  
  
"I know more about you than you think," Max replied. "I know what your hobby is."  
  
"What hobby?"  
  
"This is a streaming freedom video via the Eyes Only Informant Net."  
  
Logan's eyes went wide. "How?"  
  
"I knew you in another life."  
  
"452," Jondy snapped. Jondy came over to Max and dragged her away. "You in the game or not? You can be pulled out."  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"Fine don't cut it. You were conversing with a hostage. Do you need to take Op Protocol 101 again?"  
  
Max began to get angry. "No."  
  
"Prove it," Jondy snapped. She turned her back and walked away.  
  
Max got angry and punched the wall.  
  
Jondy went to Zack immediately. "452 needs to sit this one out."  
  
"What's up?"  
  
"Four eyes, the one who looks like he wants to play hero, she was talking with him. A conversation."  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"You have to ask? If you want to see, then you take a look. You and I know her the best. And for the record, I don't trust it."  
  
Zack looked over her shoulder towards Max, who was looking at Logan. "Noted. I'm on it."  
  
Zack walked over to Max and he kissed her deeply. "Your head in the game?"  
  
"Why's everyone asking that?" Max asked.  
  
"210's worried about you and so am I. If you can't deal, let me know. I'll have you escorted out."  
  
"I'm fine."  
  
"What's up with Cale? How'd you know him?"  
  
"... I saw a news report on him on my last solo mission," she lied.  
  
Zack studied her and shook his head. "You know how I feel about you. I want to you to be safe."  
  
Max took a deep breath. "I'm on it. Ok?"  
  
"Good. The Colonel's going to patch through soon. They're hooking up the video input now." Max nodded and Zack kissed her forehead.  
  
He headed back to the group. Jondy looked at him. He could tell that she was concerned. He nodded, he was concerned too but not as much as Jondy was. Jondy walked over to Logan. "On your feet."  
  
Logan stood up. "Yes?"  
  
Jondy hit him in the gut. "The correct response is 'Yes, Ma'am'"  
  
"Ok," Logan replied. Jondy hit him again. He choked out a, "Yes Ma'am."  
  
"Good, you learn quickly. You talk to any of us again and I'll make it so you don't get up. Is that clear?" Logan nodded. Jondy hit him again.  
  
"Yes Ma'am," he stammered.  
  
"Sit your ass down now."  
  
Logan pretty much dropped to the ground. Brin turned a TV on, Lydecker was on it. "Greetings and salutations. I am Colonel Donald Lydecker. My associates and I are gravely concerned about the condition of our budget right now. We are worried about lack of budget actually. Some of my children are there right now to assure you that your funds are being well spent. Soldier unmask and show them your true faces."  
  
"Sir? That breaches Op Sec," Zack replied.  
  
"An order, 599," Lydecker said.  
  
The group slowly pulled their masks off. Max watched the ones she had dreamt about, none of them showed any signs of recognition towards her.  
  
"Soldiers show them," Lydecker said.  
  
"Sir. I have to object," Zack replied.  
  
"Objection noted. But the order was given," Lydecker said.  
  
The Unit turned and showed their barcodes. There were murmurs from the patrons.  
  
"These are the best X5s we have. And your money will help us to make them better. Make more generations of them."  
  
"What if we don't want to give you our money for your testing?" Logan asked.  
  
"There is no option. All of you will pay all that you can or you will be killed," Lydecker responded.  
  
Max got a feeling then, one she knew well. The option was not pay or get killed, it was pay and then get killed.  
  
"I'm just a waiter. I get paid minimum wage man," Sketchy said.  
  
"452, 734, 210, 798. Take the patrons who are not on the list to the elevators," Lydecker ordered.  
  
Cindy, Sketchy, Normal, and ten other nobodies got up and the four soldiers led them to the elevators. Brin ushered the first ten people into the elevators. She joined them in there and kept her gun on them. Max heard the gunshots, so did the other X5s but the noise was too distant for the normal people to hear. Jace led her group in and did the same thing. Jondy led hers in and did the same. Max was left with her three friends. She pushed them into the elevator. She went down about thirty feet and stopped the elevator.  
  
"Play dead," Max ordered.  
  
"What?" Normal asked.  
  
"You won't understand my reasons but I don't want to kill you. You just got to keep quiet about what happened here today. And when the elevator hits the ground floor, lay still. Don't move. And be relaxed. They'll think you're dead. When the sun comes up tomorrow leave and go home."  
  
"Why are you doing this?" Sketchy asked.  
  
"You wouldn't understand," Max replied.  
  
"I mean the hostage thing. If your gonna save us, why you doing it at all?" he asked.  
  
"We got to follow orders. That's my family up there... If you don't play dead, they'll kill you." Max fired three shots into the floor. "Lie down and stay there till dawn." She pulled out a canister and poured fake blood all over the three, who were now on the ground. She then climbed up to the top of the elevator and she threw a rope up to the top. It snagged and she climbed up quickly.  
  
Jondy was already up and they made eye contact. Max looked away quickly. She knew exactly what Jondy was doing without looking. She was clenching her teeth. Jondy always clenched her teeth when she was mad at or worried about Max. Max went and rejoined the group. Jondy looked down, she thought she could sense movement in the elevator. Jondy considered it for a second then she hooked herself up to Max's rope and descended down to the elevator. She quietly lifted the hatch to the car and dropped in a small gas grenade. There was soon coughing the car and Jondy opened fire. She stopped shooting when there was no more coughing. The smoke cleared and Jondy saw that she had hit all three of the passengers with deadly accuracy. She clenched her teeth tightly and climbed up the rope. She made her way into the main part of the restaurant where everyone was gathered and she watched Max. Max kept looking at the Logan guy. Jondy exhaled, something was very wrong with Max.  
  
Max couldn't keep her eyes off of Logan. In this life she had fallen in love with Zack but she remembered what it was like to lust after Logan, to want him so much but to never have him. She felt the prickles on the back of her neck and she looked over at Jondy. She was leaning against a wall, staring at Max. Max knew the face Jondy had, it was her "I'm very pissed" face. Max moved over to Jondy.  
  
"What's up?" Max asked. Jondy roughly grabbed Max's arm and led her to the other side of the restaurant, near the elevators. "Jondy, ow, that hurts."  
  
Jondy stopped walking but did not let go. She tapped her earpiece. "471 come in."  
  
"I'm here." Krit's voice came back.  
  
"Send 766 up. 452's coming down."  
  
Krit's response came back through the ear piece. "On her way."  
  
"What's going on?" Max asked.  
  
"What was with the elevator car huh? You didn't do what you were supposed to."  
  
"I did too."  
  
"I checked, Max. But don't worry, I finished the job for you."  
  
"You did what?"  
  
"I saved your ass. I'm not going to report it to the Colonel. Just go down to the van and sit this one out."  
  
"Jon, you can't do this to me."  
  
"I'm Number 2 in command. Do you want me to tell Zack that you've been making batty eyes with one of the captives?"  
  
"I'm not."  
  
"You can't lie to me. You never could and you'll never be able to."  
  
Max wished that she had told Jondy about her dream, or whatever it was, earlier. Jondy would be on her side if she knew the truth. The service elevator came up and the door opened. Eva stepped out. Jondy pushed Max in. "You'll thank me someday."  
  
Max stared at Jondy as the doors closed. She knew that Jondy would be standing at the door, watching to make sure the elevator went all the way down, that's why Max had to act quickly. She opened the top hatch and climbed out. The elevator was just about to exit the building part as she jumped up. She caught the bottom of the structure with her fingertips. She pulled herself up. She bent over and watched as the elevator lowered to the ground. She saw that the bodies of the patrons were being taken out of the cars on the ground. She saw Original Cindy's lifeless corpse being pulled from the car. Nausea nearly engulfed her. She ripped herself away from the ledge and she climbed back into the restaurant.  
  
Jondy prayed, for Max's sake, that Max had stayed in the elevator and gone down. But in her heart she knew she hadn't. Something had gotten into her baby sister and when they got back to base Max was going to pay for it.  
  
Jondy thought back to a time five years ago when Ben's Blue Lady worship had gotten the best of him, his judgement began to slip and he became crazed. The Colonel had found out about Ben's habit of taking the teeth from his targets. Ben would become savage at every kill and lay the body in the same fashion every time, the neck snapped, the body displayed with one arm behind the body, then the teeth removed. Ben could not and would not stop talking about the Blue Lady. Lydecker caught wind of it and took Ben away for a while, when he came back he never spoke of her at lengths again.  
  
Lydecker was going to catch wind of how Max was acting tonight and he would take her away for a while. She'd come back but she'd be different and that thought killed Jondy.  
  
Eva cleared her throat and Jondy turned around. "Sorry, I was lost in thoughts."  
  
"Is Max ok?" Eva asked with concern in her voice.  
  
"I don't know," Jondy replied honestly then she led Eva into the main room.  
  
Zack looked over and saw Jondy walk in with Eva. He instantly moved over to Jondy. "Where's 452?"  
  
"I benched her and called in 766."  
  
"Go ask 701 where you can be of use," Zack ordered. Eva saluted and ran over to Syl. "So why did you sideline 452?"  
  
"She didn't take care of her cargo." Zack swore under his breath. "And she's also acting weird about Cale. Permission to deal with Mr. Cale by myself sir?" Jondy asked.  
  
Zack inhaled. "Granted. Keep him alive until ordered otherwise. Is that clear?"  
  
"Yes, sir," Jondy replied. She saluted him and then went over to Logan. She leveled her gun at him. "On your feet."  
  
"Yes Ma'am," Logan replied as he scrambled to his feet.  
  
"Good boy. Come with me," Jondy said. She led Logan away from the others. She ripped a chair out for him. "Sit."  
  
"Yes Ma'am." Logan sat down.  
  
"You and me, we're gonna have a little chat. How do you know 452?"  
  
"Who?"  
  
"The one who talked with you."  
  
"I don't."  
  
"You don't?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Then why were you talking to her?"  
  
"She talked to me. She knew some stuff about me..." He trailed off.  
  
"Come on, Mr. Cale, now's not the time to be bashful. What did she know?"  
  
"She knew one of my hobbies, as she called it."  
  
"Which is?"  
  
Logan remained steadfast, Jondy cocked the gun. "The truth, Mr. Cale, or your gray matter between your ears will be part of the decor."  
  
"I'm Eyes Only." Jondy raised an eyebrow in interest. "She knew I was Eyes Only."  
  
"Did she say how?"  
  
"I assume that your whole company knows."  
  
Jondy showed no reaction to his statement. "What did she say about knowing?"  
  
"She said she knew me in a past life. That's all. I swear."  
  
"I believe you, Mr. Cale. But you and me are going to sit here and wait for 452."  
  
"Didn't you replace her?"  
  
"Observant. I did. I expect her to come back looking for you."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because I believe that she does know you somehow."  
  
Jondy remembered back when the escape attempt failed. Max had acted like she thought they had. Then she kept asking the nurses and what not, what day it was. They were released to the barracks in the middle of May and Max was so anxious. She seemed to be counting down the days. Days later, on June first, she was waiting for something. Something that never came. She slept that night and had a dream. She said something about the Pulse in her dreams.  
  
Jondy remembered a later time when she was out on a solo mission where she read about a failed attempt by a terrorist group to detonate a nuclear warhead in space. Had it been successful there would have been an Electromagnetic Pulse strong enough to wipe out all the computers in the United States. They had planned for it to be June 1st. Somehow Max knew about it.  
  
She then remembered a mission she did with Max, their "first duo", and also their first mission outside of Manticore. They were walking by a store that sold TV's when the TV's blanked out and Eyes Only came on the screen. Max's eyes were drawn to the patriotic red, white, and blue. But then Jondy watched as Max mouthed the intro. Do not attempt to adjust your screen, this is a streaming freedom video. It will last exactly sixty seconds, it cannot be traced, it cannot be stopped. And it is the only free voice in the city. Then when the telecast was drawing to a close, Max whispered two words, "Peace. Out." Seconds later Eyes Only said the exact same words. The TV's returned to their regular broadcasting and Max continued on as if she hadn't realized what she just had done.  
  
Jondy came back to the real world. She saw Logan was watching her. Jondy looked at his eyes. "You've got nice eyes."  
  
Logan did not know how to respond to this, "Thank you?" he asked in bewilderment.  
  
"Really, you do. I've seen some of your hacks when I've been out on missions. Your intent is good, a bit misguided but good all the same."  
  
"How would a genetically altered super soldier know the difference between good and bad?"  
  
Jondy was taken back by this comment. "Just because I was conceived in a lab and not in some broad's gut doesn't mean I don't have a conscious or a soul."  
  
"Could have fooled me when you killed the people in the elevators."  
  
"They should have gone to McDonald's tonight. Wrong place, wrong time. Life works out that way sometimes."  
  
"Especially when you have brutal killers pull the trigger."  
  
"You know what? You know nothing about me. Nothing. You know nothing about what it's like at Manticore. We tried to escape. We went through months of physical and psychological torture. No our whole lives have been one long string of pain and suffering."  
  
"Then why don't you just end your life?"  
  
"Because that's the easy way out," Jondy snapped. "I'm a soldier, I'll fight to the end."  
  
Logan seemed content with that answer.  
  
Jondy looked at him and then the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She knew Max was watching her. "Come out, little sister," she said without moving.  
  
Max dropped silently to the ground between Logan and Jondy. Max held her arms out to the sides, as if to shield Logan.  
  
"Put your arms down, you look like an ass," Jondy said.  
  
Max was shocked by the sentence. "But..."  
  
"But nothing. You should have told me what was going on before this."  
  
"I thought it was a dream."  
  
"Well it might have been but if you're willing to push it to the edge with him... Then I guess I got to watch your back." Max smiled, "But don't smile. This is so they don't kill you when we get back."  
  
Max quickly lost the smile. "Thank you."  
  
Logan spoke. "What's going on?"  
  
"We're going to get you out of here alive," Max explained.  
  
"What about them?" Logan asked as he motioned to the larger group.  
  
"It can't be helped. If you want to stay and die with them then it'll be that way. But if you want to live to make a difference, then you play our game," Jondy said. She made several hand motions and Max nodded then disappeared the way she came.  
  
"Why are you doing this?" Logan asked. "Earlier you were willing to kill me at the drop of a dime."  
  
"I'm doing it because it's what she wants."  
  
"So?"  
  
"I love her with my whole heart. The others, I love them too. But with the two of us. it's different. It's always been that way. She's my sister and my best friend. I'd give my life for her and someday I probably will."  
  
"And you would?"  
  
"Without a second thought," Jondy said.  
  
"I admire that."  
  
"Thank you."  
  
"So do you have names or should I just call you by your numbers?"  
  
Jondy cracked a smile. "Do you know either?"  
  
"That's why I'm asking."  
  
"I'm 210 and she's 452. Jondy and Max."  
  
"You're Jondy?"  
  
"Yep. Hold on."  
  
Jondy punched him in the gut. He went down hard. He looked up to ask why, then he saw the strong looking blonde man who was leading the mission. He glanced over and nodded. Logan played out that he was in pain, which wasn't that hard. Then the soldier walked away.  
  
"Sorry," Jondy said, giving him a hand up.  
  
"You heard him coming?"  
  
"Yeah. And I know his style. He likes to check on me and Maxie."  
  
"He favors you two?"  
  
"You could say that."  
  
Max popped her head back into the room. She signaled something then climbed back up. Jondy grabbed Logan and jumped up to the crawl space. They crawled to a hatch that opened to the elevator. Jondy secured a line to the elevator wire. She tossed Max the rope. Max hooked it onto her harness and she slid to the elevator wire. Jondy went to the rope and hooked herself on to it.  
  
"Hold on to me as if your life depends on it," she told to Logan.  
  
"That won't be a problem," he replied.  
  
He grabbed her tightly and they slid to the elevator wire. Once they go to the elevator wire, Max and Jondy, with Logan on her back, began to climb to the elevator wire down to the ground. When they got close to the landing, above the gift shop, the girls launched themselves from the wire. In mid air, Jondy pulled Logan around to her front and she was able to land in a roll so neither her or Logan took the brunt of the fall.  
  
Jondy heard the crack and static on her headset. "210. Where the hell are you and 452 going?" Krit demanded.  
  
Jondy helped Logan to his feet and they started running.  
  
"Jondy. Come in now," Krit ordered.  
  
"What?" Jondy asked.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?"  
  
"Side trip. Always wanted to go into EMP, you know?"  
  
"EMP's the other way."  
  
Jondy ripped her earpiece out. "I hate arguing with him." She looked to Logan. "Five days older than me and he never lets it go."  
  
Max ran out into traffic and flagged down a car. The driver was in his late teens or early twenties. He was driving his modified street racing car. Max bent over the passenger window and he lowered it. "Hey," she said in a flighty voice.  
  
"Yo, baby. What can I do you for?" he asked.  
  
Jondy tapped on his window and then she ripped open the door. She struck him and knocked him out. She pulled him out of the car and shoved Logan in. She got into the driver's seat.  
  
"You know how to drive a clutch?" Logan asked from the back seat.  
  
"Good time to learn," Jondy said. She put the car in gear and drove off. Jondy sped through the city. Logan prayed that they were not pulled over by police and fortunately they weren't. Jondy pulled up to a bank. "This your bank?  
  
"Logan looked at it. "No. Why?"  
  
"They're going to liquidate you. Your penthouse too," Max said.  
  
"I can't make a withdrawal until the morning," Logan said.  
  
"Fine, we'll get what you need out of your crib," Jondy said.  
  
Logan guided her through the city to his place. They moved inside and up the elevator as quickly as they could. "Get what you need," Jondy ordered.  
  
Logan moved around his place and began to pack. Jondy pulled Max aside, "They're gonna catch us," she said solemnly. "Then kill him."  
  
"We can't let that happen," Max said.  
  
"He's a journalist, he's too much of a risk," Jondy said.  
  
"Then why'd you go this far?" Max asked.  
  
"So they won't kill you. I'll take the fall but I doubt we can keep Logan alive."  
  
Max was torn. She knew what Logan was capable of, all the good deeds he could do but now Jondy was putting her life on the line to save Max's. Max took a deep breath. "We'll get him to Canada and we can go with."  
  
Jondy didn't respond. She clenched her teeth and looked at her watch, "Hurry up Logan."  
  
"I'm going as fast as I can," he responded.  
  
"I'm gonna go sit in the car and keep an eye out for the calvary. Hurry, Maxie." Jondy locked her hand in Max's. Their secret hand shake.  
  
Jondy left and Max stood Logan's penthouse alone. It was haunting how familiar the place was. The memories of her other life came rushing back, the stolen kisses, the petty arguments, the happy and sad moments that made that life real. Logan came back into the room with two file boxes, a duffle bag, and a laptop case. "All the vital stuff," he said.  
  
Max grabbed the boxes and lifted them easily. "We've got to get you to Canada as soon as we can."  
  
Max led Logan to the elevator. They pushed the call button. The elevator came and they boarded it. Jondy pulled the car up to the front of the building and the two loaded quickly and Jondy took off.  
  
Jondy figured that the fastest and safest way to get to Canada was to Ferry to Bremerton then Ferry to Victoria. The road border would be patrolled to heavily and Max and her could head back from Bremerton. The trip to Bremerton was one of constant paranoia. Each one of them was constantly looking over their shoulders at people dressed in black.  
  
Jondy felt naked with her guns and knives hidden in the trunk of the car. She had no protection on this unprotected vessel. But carrying any gun would attract too much attention. She finally resolved to go down to the lower deck and get her 9mm. She hid it in her belt loop by her back. It gave her some comfort now.  
  
The ferry docked in Bremerton and their car loaded off. Jondy did not roll into the car line for going to Victoria.  
  
"What's up?" Max asked.  
  
"We don't go any further. We'll return to the unit, forget what we know, and take the punishment as dealt," Jondy responded and she rolled the car into the line for Victoria.  
  
"What are you doing?" Logan asked.  
  
"Max and I will be pedestrians. You'll need the car."  
  
"I'm not going back," Max said.  
  
"You're not going with him," Jondy countered.  
  
"I am. Someone's got to keep an eye on him," Max replied, "To make sure he doesn't go public with Manticore."  
  
Jondy clenched her jaw tightly. "You're turning your back on me, Max, on our family, and on love."  
  
"Not on love. I love Logan."  
  
"You love Zack," Jondy said.  
  
"Because I never found Logan. It took me so long to realize this, but the men in my life mean everything. Logan is part of my life."  
  
Jondy nodded and she unbuckled her seat belt.  
  
"You're not coming?" Max asked.  
  
"No. Logan's your fight, our family is mine. Don't worry, our paths will cross again," Jondy said.  
  
Tears built in Max's eyes. "Who's gonna watch my back now?"  
  
"I'll always be part of you, Maxie. Always."  
  
They hugged and let their foreheads touch. Jondy pulled back and kissed Max's forehead. She turned around to Logan. "You get her killed, I'll kill you."  
  
"Got it," Logan said.  
  
Jondy got out of the car and opened the trunk. She took out some of her weapons. She dumped Logan's clothes out of his bag and she took the bag. She loaded the guns into it then she ran over to the ferry heading back into Seattle. She quickly disappeared into the night.  
  
Max scooted over to the driver's side and she drove the car onto the ferry. Max stood on the bow of the ship. Her eyes distant. She watched the stars in the sky. Logan came up behind her. "You said you loved me."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"In the car. You said you loved me."  
  
"Love at first sight."  
  
"You believe in that?"  
  
"In your case."  
  
He smiled. He moved towards her and wrapped his arms around her. She closed her eyes. The cool sea air blew on her face and Logan's embrace was tight around her. She inhaled and exhaled deeply.  
  
A series of beeps snapped her eyes open. It took a second for her eyes to adjust. The sea air was the bitter cold air from the top of the Space Needle. She looked around, she was alone on the top of the Needle. She stretched, her muscles were tight. She had fallen asleep on the Needle. She remembered that she had heard her pager and she checked the number. Big surprise, it was Logan. She stood and looked over the city, it was the same torn place that she come to call home. There had been a Pulse and there had been an escape. She wondered if in her dream that they lived happily ever after.  
  
Max rode to Logan's without calling. He was at the computer, as usual. He spun around and looked at her when she entered, no hair cut.  
  
She grinned, everything was the way it was before.  
  
Logan grinned. "Hey."  
  
"Hey. What's up?"  
  
"I got a call you'd be interested in," he answered.  
  
"Oh?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"What was the call about?" Max asked.  
  
"Me," a voice replied from the kitchen.  
  
Max looked over and she saw a tall girl with light brown hair and bright blue eyes. She was wearing cargo pants, a black top, and the same Nike Shox that Max had on. She was holding a cup of Cocoa. The hair was shorter than in the dream, it was in a long pixie cut, just long enough to cover her neck. She had a grin on her face.  
  
Max grinned. "Jondy."  
  
Jondy set the cup down and went to Max and they embraced. Max pulled back. "How'd you find me?"  
  
"I didn't mean to find you. I came to offer my services to Logan, like a life debt type thing, but he said that the position was already filled."  
  
"Who told you about him?"  
  
"Syl, she made the Eyes Only connection for me. Krit played innocent until I beat it out of him."  
  
"You beat him up?"  
  
"Little sister's got a big punch. Five days older than me and he will never let me live it down," Jondy said with a grin.  
  
"You going to stay in town for a while then?" Max asked.  
  
"Might as well, somebody's got to get your back."  
  
"You always will."  
  
"Damn straight, little sister. Damn straight."  
  
Max smiled and hugged Jondy again. It didn't matter if the dream had a happy ending or not anymore. Her life was seeming to have a calm patch of good right now and that's all that mattered. She prayed that all of her family was having a moment like this, right now. She took a deep breath and whispered, "Sweet dreams, my lost ones, sweet dreams."  
  
The End 


End file.
